This is really happening. The vinyl arrived on Wednesday (6 cubic meters of vinyl delivered on 6 giant pallets), and we sped it right over to the mailing house. Due to the holiday weekend, they weren't able to ship them out last week, but they are going out TOMORROW!!!

This means you only have a few hours left if you need to update your address. I know we have been harping on this the past couple of weeks, but we are submitting the mailing info at midnight tonight, November 30th, after that the records will be on their way to whatever address we have on file for you, so this is the last chance to update.

We wanted to get the records mailed out before releasing the digital version, however we are pushing up against our release date and we wanted to still give the Kickstarter backers (especially those at the digital level) early access to the album. Thus, we will be releasing the digital version of The Near Future to all Kickstarter backers on Friday, December 5th.

The official public release date is December 9th. We will be doing a UStream that night to hang out with you guys and answer questions about the whole crazy journey (more info to come on that). We will also release another update that day detailing the final costs of the entire project so that you know exactly where every cent of the money was spent, since I think that transparency is important in any Kickstarter.

Plus, as we mentioned previously, each of you will be receiving a signed Certificate of Authenticity along with your vinyl. We had a bit of a wacky night signing them:

However, I also do have one piece of sad news that I must reluctantly report. In the end, we were not able to fulfill the stretch goal of the fireball picture disc singles. The original manufacturer we had planned on using turned out to be lying to us, causing the price to skyrocket, and with the increased shipping costs and re-recording costs, we simply ran out of money. We decided to put the album first, since it was the core of the project, and you'll be able to see the full picture of how everything shook out in the December 9th update with the budget breakdown.

I want you to know that it breaks my heart that we weren't able to make these picture discs, and I do have a fantasy that one day we'll be able to release them and ship them out to you guys, even if it's years down the line.

That said, as we prepare to cross the finish line with this project and this album, I can honestly say that the past 18 months have been a completely enriching life experience for the entire band, and that we cannot wait to share this album with you. We poured our hearts and souls into it, and I hope that you love it as much as we do.

Guys, this is really happening. It's happening because you made it happen, and there aren't words strong enough to express how thankful we are that you have taken this crazy journey with us.

hahahahahaha This is why I love you so much! By the way, what kind of shipping is being used for international backers? I hope it gets here as soon as possible, such a shame though that the holiday season is usually really crazy

Hi Alex! Sadly there won't be tracking info for these, as with many Kickstarters we have to use Media Mail to keep things affordable (otherwise shipping would be literally 4x as expensive and it's already costing us $20-30,000).

However, we're sending them with Address Service Requested, which means that if they're not deliverable for any reason they should come back to us so we can resend them.

One question though, will we recieve tracking information once it's all shipped? I've had instances of stuff getting stolen from my complex so I like to know what day something is arriving so I can try to have my girlfriend or someone move it inside (since I work all day). Thanks guys!

It's been crazy, it's been intense. Thank you for allowing us to experience this with you :) I wouldn't have changed any decision I've made in supporting you guys. Can't wait to hear your art. Keep it up.

I shall do my part to ease your mind: my address has not changed since I set up my donation.
Thanks for all the updates over the months. It's great to get such a full picture in the production of an album. That, in itself, is a treat.

@David, thank you man, I really appreciate that. It was going to be "Burnadette" with "Hero" as the b-side. Both of those songs will be part of "The Future Imperfect" which is the collection of demos that didn't make the album (which is included in your digital version)

So we don't get the fireball... I say it's no big deal at all. It's the album that really counts and we'll get it so everything is perfect. I do have questions : What was the song that was supposed to be on it? Can we see what it was supposed to look like and will there be a digital version?